Land ownership

Land in and around urban areas are either owned by the government, or by the private sector or, as in most Pacific island economies, it is owned communally by tribes or clans[1].

Often large land owners, be they governmental, communal or private, have a vested interest in maintaining the status quo. These vested interests gain more by keeping the land markets fragmented, without proper controls and by keeping the dealings in the land market non-transparent. While they profit from the status quo the prime losers are the urban residents, particularly urban poor[1].